Chicken and Black Bean Tostadas with Avocado Cream Sauce
January 2, 2014
1 Comment
Minnesotans love Mexican food! It’s a surprising discovery for me. When I picture Midwestern eating I imagine comforty meat and potatoes dishes. I certainly don’t picture rice, beans, and unusual spices. But my in-laws (and many of their fellow Minnesotans) seem to just love Mexican food. Tacos, burritos, fajitas, Mexican bakes, you name it and they love it!
So, I designed some yummy tostadas to share with them. I towered them high with colorful black beans, chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, cheese, and cilantro. Then I drizzled them with a tangy avocado cream sauce…it’s creamy, it’s avocadoy, and it’s absolutely divine 🙂
As an added bonus, I even baked the corn tortillas! So they’re delicious and healthy. Always a win-win in my cookbook!
Happy New Year Everyone! Cheers to a fantastic and delicious year to come 🙂
Chicken and Black Bean Tostadas with Avocado Cream Sauce
Ingredients
CHICKEN
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1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into small bite sized pieces
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2 tablespoons olive oil
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¼ cup flour
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1 teaspoon cumin
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1 teaspoon chili powder
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¼ teaspoon salt
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¼ teaspoon pepper
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optional: ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
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optional: ¼ teaspoon paprika
BEANS
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3.5 cups of black beans 2 cans drained
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1 tablespoon butter
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½ teaspoon cumin
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½ teaspoon garlic powder
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½ teaspoon salt
AVOCADO CREAM SAUCE
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1 ripe Hass avocado
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1/2 -1 jalapeño diced and seeded*
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½ cup plain greek yogurt or sour cream
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juice of 1 lime
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1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro or 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
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¼ teaspoon salt
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splash of milk
TOSTADAS
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8 corn tortillas
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Olive oil for brushing tortillas
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1.5-2 cups of shredded cheese
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4 medium tomatoes diced
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4-6 leafs of romaine lettuce chopped
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½ red onion diced
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fresh cilantro or parsley chopped
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optional: limes for garnish
Instructions
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Chicken: Mix flour and spices in a bowl and toss with chicken pieces. Heat olive oil in a (preferably cast iron) skillet over medium heat. Sauté chicken until fully cooked stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
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Beans: Heat butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Mix beans with spices and add them to the skillet. Stir and mash beans while they are heating in the skillet. Once the beans are heated throughout remove from heat and set aside.
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Avocado cream sauce: Blend all ingredients except milk until smooth. Stir in milk until sauce reaches desired consistency (I used just a splash).
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Tortillas: Tortillas are best served right from the oven so while tortillas are baking make sure all toppings are ready for assembly. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush both sides of tortillas with olive oil. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, flip, and bake for additional 3 minutes. Once tortillas are done baking, sprinkle with salt and begin to assemble tostadas right away.
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Assembly: Divide each ingredient equally between the 8 tostadas. Spread a layer of black beans on each tortilla. Sprinkle each with chicken, cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and cilantro (or parsley). Drizzle with avocado cream sauce and dive in! 🙂
Recipe Notes
*for slightly spicy sauce use ½ jalapeño, for a spicier sauce use the whole jalapeño
Mary
Looks good!